Storytelling is the centerpiece of good entertainment, and our city has a lot of stories to tell. Las Vegas has been long obsessed with being ahead of the curve in all things entertainment, food and gaming. But with a reputation for building up new resorts as fast as it tears them down, Las Vegas is a city in constant flux. Often, important stories of our past are simply forgotten.

Across the Tracks: A Las Vegas Westside Story is a new documentary that aims to unveil an often overlooked side of our town’s story. Filmmaker and producer Emmett Gates, delves deep into the heart of Black Las Vegas and shows just how vibrant and significant this community’s presence was in the city’s early days.

”We’re called the Entertainment Capital of the World—Black Americans have always had a centralized role, even when we weren’t invited to participate,” Gates tells the Weekly. “These are people that had a cultural output, but people didn’t want them in their neighborhoods. I wanted to focus on that irony.”

Premiering at both the Sundance Film Festival and locally at the Plaza, Gates’ film serves as proof of the enduring spirit of those who established our Historic Westside community. Through firsthand accounts spanning decades, the viewer witnesses the beginnings of that community in the 1940s, and follows it to the present day. Supporting these firsthand experiences are contemporaneous photos, stories and footage from such sources as the Las Vegas Sun and the defunct Las Vegas Age, along with records provided by UNLV and the Nevada State Museum.

Vegas historians, Claytee D. White, Dr. Tyler D. Parry, Bob Stoldal and Michael Green also helped shape the story. Gates says, “Together we were able to find nuggets of information that even the most seasoned Las Vegas and might be surprised to learn about.”

”Generally, if somebody says Vegas history, we jump to the mob, or look at the cowboys and casinos, and all of these have been well documented,” says Gates. “Although this story is not unique, because every major city pretty much has the same kind of history, this is Vegas, and this is our story.”

One of the documentary’s most compelling aspects is the explorations of the struggle for equality during the era of segregation and Jim Crow laws. The film recounts the well-known instances of discrimination against Nat King Cole and Sammy Davis Jr., but it also educates us on the bold activism of Josephine Baker, the iconic 1920s singer, dancer and actress who refused to perform unless her audience was integrated.

This vision is brought to life with the expertise of cinematographer Robert Perez, and through the filmmakers’ commitment to authenticity we’re met with an interesting and dynamic piece of storytelling that not only educates and entertains, but also should also resonate with audiences who have never visited the Historic Westside.

For Gates, preserving the past isn’t just a passion project—it’s a personal mission. “If you do not preserve the history, it will get rolled over and forgotten for future generations,” he says. “I don’t want people of color’s history to suffer that same fate.”

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